Rejected Romance
by Keeva Stark
Summary: The Titans are heading home back to Jump City from their trip in Tokyo, and none too soon after they find themselves knee-deep in anxiety, what with Slade still on the loose. What is he up to and how will it affect Raven? Raven's POV, RobRae
1. Chapter 1 : Airline Food

**Chapter One: Airline Food**

I have read romance novels. It was inevitable for a book addict like myself, but no matter how many times you look at it, Raven Roth of the Teen Titans never seems like the type to enjoy such things. Well, surprise, I do. That is to say, I enjoy romance novels _occasionally_. You see the keyword in that? This indicates that I like to read romance novels when they're good. It's not that hard to mess up a love story, and people tend to do it a lot.

How are most love stories destroyed? I think it's a lack of correspondence to reality. Yeah, I know, this coming from an adolescent superhero, but just bear with me. It all just seems to be romance for the sake of romance. It's almost as if the whole story is completely improvised and looking for excuses for intercourse every three seconds.

But enough of my ranting. There is a point to bringing this up, believe it or not. Another factor in rejected romances that actually applies to this story is the lack of intimate interaction between the main characters in question. What I mean by that is not that the characters are compatible. No, I mean that their love for each other sort of shoots off a bit too quickly. It's like that "love at first sight" cliché. Apparently these writers don't seem to grasp the idea that such feelings take time. Those who do grasp it ruin the idea by filling the character with self torment and confusion that just has to be told in tediously long paragraphs and descriptions.

I hope I haven't bored you to sleep by now. If you are still awake, then kudos, you get a cookie.

Now, onward to the actual story. It starts the day after our week of sightseeing and endless nights of karaoke in Tokyo. We were flying first class back to Jump City with our cargo filled to the brim with gifts and souvenirs. Why weren't we flying in the T-ship? It turns out that the T-ship was damaged in the midst of our battle, much to Cyborg's misery. However, a mechanics shop in town volunteered to repair it for free and fly it in back to the US when it was done. Cyborg, of course, protested to someone else using his "baby" without his supervision. But his choices ended up with either being left behind in Japan or flying a free trip back home first class.

Needless to say, no one was missing from our group on the way back.

Much to our good fortune, the Titans ended up being the only people flying first class on that flight. We made the best of these luxuries and advantages. You know, ordering the lobster and stuff like that. Beast Boy couldn't stay still he was so excited. As soon as we had been permitted to leave our seats, he was bouncing off the walls like a big, green rubber band ball. I took a seat in the back to read a book or two without any disturbances (or so I hoped) while the rest of the team occupied the front as they watched a movie. What it was, none of us knew. But it was free; all the qualifications were automatically filled.

We were halfway over the Pacific Ocean when an unshelled peanut hit my head and fell into the pages of my book. I looked up at the seat in front of me and frowned at Beast Boy.

"What?" I growled.

"Aren't you going to join us for the rest of the movie?" he pouted.

"I don't plan on it," I said, looking back down.

"Jeez, Rae! Loosen up a little!"

I ignored him and he eventually sighed and sat back down with the rest of them. I took a small second to look up at the four. Cyborg was on the edge of his seat while Beast Boy wasn't even on his. Robin and Starfire sat in the middle, Robin's arm wrapped around Starfire's shoulders. Noticing the gesture, my eyes immediately found the pages again.

How predictable, right? Just be thankful that I'm not going into some dissertation-long explanation about how and why. We'll save that for later because at this point in my life, even I didn't know what was going on. What I did know at the time was that when I saw stuff like that it irritated me. Public displays of affection have never been my favourite thing in the world, so I put two and two together.

The TV screen buzzed into feedback. A few seconds later, one of the flight attendants looked at us from the cockpit.

"Pardon me, Titans," she said, "but we have received a transmission for you. Would you like to accept the call?"

"Who is it?" asked Robin.

"It is Bumblebee of the Titans East," she replied. "She says it's important."

I put down my book and floated forward to Cyborg's side, who looked saddened by the sudden interruption.

"We accept the transmission," Robin said. The attendant nodded and Bumblebee took her place after a second of more feedback.

"Hey, Titans," she said with a smile, though her eyes were sharp. "You guys on your way back?"

"We are," said Robin. "What seems to be the problem?"

"It looks like you were gone one day too long." She gave up on her grin and wrinkled her nose. "We've been watching the news, and it seems that there have been some sightings of an old friend of yours around Jump."

"Who?"

"Slade."

We all immediately fell silent. News like this was sort of predictable, but we couldn't predict when we'd see our masked enemy again. We all knew that he had disappeared, but I guess the thought of him coming back had been pushed to the back of our minds. The Brotherhood of Evil and Brushogun were just distractions from the worst villain of all. Why was he so dangerous? I think it's because we never knew what he was going to do next. Every time we thought he was gone for good, he stepped out of the darkness once again. Every time he did, he was guaranteed to be more powerful and knowledgeable than before. Slade was a disease, one that seemed more and more incurable the worse that it got.

"What has he done?" Robin asked, now standing up.

"That's just the thing," Bumblebee replied. "All the crimes in Jump City that have been committed since you were gone have been taken care of by your replacements Kid Flash, Jinx, Red Star, and Hot Spot. We talked to them and they said that none of the villains battled were Slade."

"He must still be planning from the shadows then." Robin began to pace with his eyes facing the floor. "Have you got any leads on his location?"

"Negative. The substitute team has searched the town a hundred times over and still don't have a clue where he could be."

Robin's brows furrowed as he stopped pacing. Bumblebee saw his frustration and quickly continued talking.

"Look, just relax, okay? I don't want you guys to get too busy on your first day back." She forced a smile and waved goodbye. "Talk to you later!"

Before Robin's open mouth could protest, the TV screen buzzed back to the movie they were watching before. However, this time, no one was watching the movie; all eyes were on Robin.

There was a tense and closed barrier surrounding his aura. We all knew that his mind was now abuzz and his aggravation mounting. You'd think he hadn't learned anything from our experience in Tokyo. The truth is we all knew this was just as certain as Slade's reappearance. We just didn't know how we were going to alleviate his obsessions. A few more thick moments of silence ticked past.

"Hey, Robin," Cyborg began, but his voice trailed away.

"How long till we get home?" Robin asked to no one in particular.

Everyone else's spirits were dampened a little.

I spoke up. "We should be there by tomorrow afternoon."

"Good," he said. "We can't afford to waste any more time. Slade's out there and we still don't know what he's up to."

"Dude," Beast Boy started, "don't you think –"

"He doesn't seem to have made any moves yet. Still, we can't take any risks. We have to take him out before he tries any –"

Starfire took Robin's hand. He stopped talking and looked down at her.

"I think Bumblebee is right," she said softly, almost scared even. "We should relax."

They were brief statements, but the look she gave him told enough. His expression loosened and he sat back down, showing her a small smile.

"Okay," he said. "I'm sorry."

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She returned his grin and settled back down to watch the movie. Beast Boy and Cyborg sighed in relief and returned their attention to the TV screen. Even I was comforted by these small movements of a quick recovery from what could have been a nasty argument.

Suddenly, though, my heart sank as I saw Robin flash a frown that eluded all but me. I knew it was too good to be true. It would take a lot more than that to get his mind off of Slade.

Nonetheless, everyone else was ignorantly content. I would just have to help prevent any future difficulties that may force rifts between him and his team.

I felt a small impact against my head. A peanut landed at my feet and my eyes found Cyborg and Beast Boy hanging over the backs of their seats with bags of peanuts in their hands. Beast Boy pointed to Cyborg who now looked terrified under the wrath of my magnifying glass of fire and fury. Feeling a bit good-natured for some reason, I threw them a playful grin that possibly spelled out even more trouble than before. The bags of peanuts that I had been given earlier were still lying idle on my seat. Idle kernels are the work of the devil after all. They levitated in a black cloud into my hand and opened themselves, spilling all the peanuts into my aura of power.

"We surrender!" Beast Boy suddenly squeaked.

Too late. My seeds of catastrophe had been launched at them like bullets. The two mischief-makers were pelted to the ground and I sat back down in a much better mood.

Probably not the cherry on top of my vacation, but it was pretty darn close.


	2. Chapter 2 : Whom, What, When, and Why?

**Author's Note: Thank you to gotic-star and Sheograph for the support! Enjoy chapter two.**

* * *

**Chapter Two: Who, What, When, and Why?**

Oh, yay, this is the part you all have been waiting for. Since it turned out to be so long, a whole chapter had to be dedicated to explaining why I've been thinking the way I have. You know, you could probably skip over this whole chapter and it wouldn't even matter. Seriously, no one wants to hear me ramble on about my feelings, so you might as well just ignore this whole thing. Please.

Still reading? Well, now don't I feel special. Okay, since you're still here just keep on reading until you feel like you are on the brink of spontaneously exploding out of sheer boredom. Or if you decide to wait for the fireworks, then kindly get your friends to help clean up the mess you so politely chose to leave and take the exit on the right. Or if you don't even have any friends then I suggest you stand up, walk out of your house, and greet the brand new world.

Let's start with the "whom" then. (Yes, "whom." Pick up a grammar book, geniuses.) As you may have noticed in the previous chapter, at this point in my life I have feelings for Robin.

Whoa, calm down, Starfire/Robin fans. It was clearly stated that this was going to be a story about Robin and I. Remember, exit's at the upper right hand corner.

Moving on, then . . .

"What?" **feel•ing** (fē'lĭng)

n. 1e : A tender emotion; a fondness.

Courtesy of dictionary . com, a great marvel of the internet.

"When?" Gradually over time. At the beginning of the Titans, he was the first to accept me even though I insisted against it, and it sort of went on from there. For a few moments during what may have been the end of the world, my feelings changed dramatically and I wanted to be with him all the time. Such naivety was washed away after I realized that the current state of our relationships could not, and should not be changed. We were all already content with the way things were, so what gave me the right to alter that?

"Why?" Now this is most likely the longest part of my annoying ramble of internal conflict. Plainly speaking, Robin makes me happy. His optimistic disposition makes me want to be just a bit cheerier, and progressively so if his company is shared with me for a long period of time. Now, I know what you're thinking. "Well, Beast Boy is always trying to make you happy, but you almost never give him a chance!" Yeah, okay, no. Beast Boy tries to be funny and I'm the ultimate challenge in his comedic pastimes. He does make me happy sometimes, but he tries too hard which makes him obnoxious most of the time. He's my friend and I love him, but not the way a lot of you seem to think.

"Yeah, but Robin isn't as optimistic as Beast Boy! He's even pessimistic a whole lot of the time." The latter being so because he tries to be serious about his job. However, when caught in his free time, he is jovial and pleasant to be around. Unlike Beast Boy, Robin respects that I value, nay, treasure my space. He makes me happy, but does such in moderation so as not to annoy me.

Wow, would you look at all the people at that exit. Must have been the Beast Boy stuff.

Another reason why I like Robin so much is that he's always there for me when I need it the most. He always knows exactly when I need a little pick-me-up, or maybe even a game of twenty questions in the situation of Trigon's emergence. He's understood me more than anyone else has and is the first person I go to when I'm feeling troubled.

All this leads up to the main idea, being that I am attracted to Robin. The supporting idea, unfortunately for me, is that I cannot interfere with the bonds that are. He is in love with Starfire and I am not Starfire.

Since there's a little room left in this chapter, let me fill you in on what will be going on in the next chapter. We're back at the Titans Tower and discussing the matter of Slade with the Titans that took our place while we were gone. My mind is doing its best to repress any unwanted thoughts, Cyborg won't get off the phone with the mechanics shop in Tokyo that's handling the T-ship, and Beast Boy is whining about his lack of tofu.

Don't forget to wash behind your ears, that man really doesn't have candy in his trunk, and good night.


	3. Chapter 3 : Homecoming

**Chapter Three: Homecoming**

You know Jinx, right? If you don't then let me take the pleasure of introducing her. She's a powerful sorceress, used to work for the HIVE, was brought to the good side by Kid Flash, and what am I forgetting? Oh, yeah. _She slept in my room while I was gone._

Okay, look, I have tons of rules; rules about my space, rules about my stuff, rules about what food I'll eat, rules about what drinks I'll drink, and so on and so forth. However, above all these rules is the golden rule: _no one goes in my room._ And now in all caps for the nearsighted: _NO ONE GOES IN MY ROOM._ Are we clear? Peachy.

Now, I thought the big poster I had taped to the door of my room saying, "DO NOT ENTER," would have been a clear-cut sign that it was off-limits. So, either Jinx can't read or she has decided that homicide by dark magic sounds like rainbows of fun.

"Look, Raven, I just slept in it for one night!"

"Why couldn't you have slept somewhere else?"

"Well, Kid Flash was staying in Beast Boy's room, Red Star in Starfire's, and Hot Spot in Robin's. They left me with the short straw and tried to make me sleep in Cyborg's room. But that's not a bed, it's an operating table!"

"You'll end up on an operating table when I'm done with you! Besides, didn't anyone tell you that Beast Boy has bunk beds?"

"Yeah, Kid Flash failed to mention it as some sort of gag, I'm sure. Raven, it was one night and I promise I didn't touch anything!"

"You could have slept on the couch!"

"Why can't you just get over it and stop throwing such a hissy fit?"

"Because I think it's a bit beyond you to be oblivious enough to not notice Beast Boy's bunk beds. I think you just didn't want to sleep in there because you're still a little bashful around Kid Flash!"

At this, her face turned a bright red. "I am not! It's just that –"

"Save it," I interrupted. "I'm not in the mood to fight anymore anyway."

"As if I wanted to argue with you!" she said folding her arms.

A blur of yellow and red sped down the hall and stopped in front of us.

"Whoa, now, ladies," Kid Flash said. "No need to be fighting over me."

"Get lost," I replied, walking back to the main room.

"What's up with her?" I heard him ask as I turned a corner.

So far, in the first ten minutes of our homecoming, things were in chaos. Robin was milking Hot Spot for all the Slade information he was worth, Silkie was lost much to Starfire's distress, Beast Boy couldn't find any tofu left for lunch nor could he find a ride to the store, and Cyborg was whining as the mechanics shop kept putting him on hold. Tuning out Starfire's calls for Silkie, Robin's unsatisfied questions, Beast Boy's pleads to Cyborg, and Cyborg's shouts at Beast Boy, I attempted to fix myself some tea.

"Silkie? Silkie? Oh, where are you, my little bumgorf?"

"Cyborg, please! If you won't drive me there, then just give me the keys to the T-car!"

"No, way! This phone is not leaving my ear until I know that the T-ship is okay, and I wouldn't let you drive the T-car if my life depended on it!"

"There's got to be something more than what you're giving me, Hot Spot."

"Sorry, Robin, but all we have are witnesses who _claim_ to have seen him."

"Did you try checking for a pattern in the locations?"

I sat at the dining table with my tea in front of me and my fingers at my temples.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

I looked up at Red Star who smiled at me sincerely.

"Only if you promise that you won't be loud," I said, picking up my cup.

"You have my word."

For a minute, we didn't talk to each other. We were both observing the chaos taking place around us, maybe waiting to see if it showed any signs of stopping.

"So, I heard that Starfire and Robin have 'hooked up'?" He curled his fingers into quotation marks.

"Sure have," I replied, trying to sound cool about it. "Did they tell you themselves?"

"Actually, the Internet is a very amazing thing," he said with a grin. "Word tends to travel faster on the world wide web."

"Indeed it does," I agreed. "Did our typical bad guys give you any trouble?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. A few burglars, but nothing worth telling."

"Glad you guys got to kick back," I said. "Nothing new on Slade?"

"Not since Bumblebee last communicated with you. But that does not seem to be stopping Robin."

"I'd like to meet the thing that does stop Robin."

"Will he be . . . okay?" Red Star asked, a little discouraged.

"I hope so," I said between sips of tea. "Maybe his relationship with Starfire will calm him down."

"Then, maybe . . . she is the one who can stop him?"

I looked into my nearly empty cup with a frown. "I suppose so."

Red Star took a few seconds to glance at me with a face that may have shown concern had I looked up. "However, I think a part of you would like the ability to do the same."

My eyes found him. "Pardon?"

Before he could answer, Kid Flash was sitting in the booth next to Red Star.

"Hey, guys," he said. He zipped off into the kitchen, brought back a bottle of water, and took a place beside me. "What's the buzz?"

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "What do you want from me?"

"Sorry if I got on your nerves," he said, edging away a little. "Jinx is sorry too."

As if on cue, Jinx stepped in front of our party with her head tilted downwards.

"Right?" Kid Flash pushed.

Jinx sighed and looked at me. "I'm sorry I slept in your bedroom. Not only that but some things you said back there were true." She blushed again, her eyes darting to the yellow-clad hero and back.

I nodded. "It's okay. I'm sorry I got so angry. It's just that there are some things in my room that . . ."

"Are so scary and creepy that they would scar and haunt the average human soul?" Jinx finished. "Yeah, I noticed."

"Hey, some of those 'scary' relics are priceless artifacts of Azarath."

"Priceless or not, I could barely sleep in that room."

"Well, good because I –"

"Please," Red Star said, standing up, "let us fight no more. We should be good natured now that the Titans have returned from their trip."

"Umm, Raven?"

I looked up at Starfire who now floated above us with Silkie under her arm, gurgling with happiness.

"You found Silkie," I said with a smile.

"I have," Starfire said, a hint of sadness in her voice, "but not before Silkie found your book."

She held up one of my spell books, now drenched in saliva and with noticeable bite marks on the cover.

I looked at Red Star. "What is this 'good nature' of which you speak?"

"Oh, please forgive him, Raven!" Starfire pleaded. "I am sure Silkie did not know that it was of value to you."

I released a heavy sigh. "It's okay, Star. Just give it back."

I regretted taking it as I observed it while it dangled between my thumb and forefinger. _Advanced Magic of Azarath_, a standard spell book for experienced magic practice. I wiped some drool off the spine with my cloak.

"It's great to be home."

* * *

Our replacement Titans left about an hour after we arrived. Almost immediately after their departure, Robin called us to the main room for a meeting.

"We have a lead on Slade's motives," he announced.

"What is it?" Cyborg announced.

"The various locations Slade has been spotted in," Robin continued, "have all been within close range of the homes of five men. Ralph Jarvis, Justin Stark, Gordon Thomas, Tim Landry, and Jerry Nobles recently finished a project for the army in constructing a new weapon called the Supernova. Security protecting the plans is still tight, but I've scheduled a meeting with the man in charge of the database for the day after tomorrow."

"And until then?" I asked.

"We pay a visit to the families of the five men in question and see if they know anything about Slade. Even if they don't, we have to make sure they're cautious from now on.

Enjoy the rest of your day off, Titans, because tomorrow we dive back into work."

_I can hardly contain my excitement,_ I thought.

* * *

I didn't put my book back until before I went to bed that night. It wasn't until I was standing on tip-toes to reach the top shelf that something struck me.

"I keep all my spell books on the highest shelf," I muttered to myself.

It was hard to fall asleep that night. Even when I did drift off, I had bizarre dreams about a much larger Silkie eating away at my bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4 : Stankball

**Author's Note: Thanks to all who have supported my fanfiction thus far, including sinomin, Mio Amore, and oh our hearts. **

* * *

**Chapter Four : Stankball**

Robin made us split up to save time. We each had to visit one of the Supernova creators and ask questions and warn them about Slade. I was sent to a simple suburban house not too far from the downtown area, home of Gordon Thomas. When I rang the doorbell, a boy about the age of seven or six answered the door. He recognized me and stared at me with eyes the size of dinner plates.

After a few moments of silenced awe, I cleared my throat.

"Um, is Mr. Thomas home?" I asked.

The boy threw his head back into the house and shouted, "DAD! RAVEN WANTS TO SEE YOU!"

Another voice, deep and loud, called back, "Raven? Who's Raven?"

"FROM THE TEEN TITANS!"

The boy ran back into the house and a tall, lanky man in his mid-thirties looked at me with kind, sleep-deprived eyes.

"Ah! Raven!" he said, holding out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you!"

I shook it. "Likewise. Is this a bad time, Mr. Thomas?"

"Not at all. And please call me Gordon," he said politely.

He invited me in and led me into what I presumed to be his office. It was a messy room with walls surrounded by shelves and shelves of books, some of which were piled high on the ground. He gave me the chair that was at his desk and pulled up another from the far right corner of the room.

"Sorry for the mess," he apologized. "I would've tidied up if I knew you were coming."

"I'm just sorry that we didn't tell you I'd be visiting," I said. "But the matter we have to discuss is too important to waste any time."

Gordon frowned. "Well, please sit down then. Can I get you anything? Maybe some coffee?"

"That won't be necessary, sir," I said, sitting down. "My team is waiting for me, so I would like to get straight to the point."

He sat down across from me.

"I'm sorry to say," I began, "that we suspect Slade may be after a weapon you happen to be familiar with."

His eyes widened. He opened and closed his mouth several times before speaking. "You can't mean the Supernova."

"I'm afraid so," I said. "Gordon, is there anything you can tell me about the Supernova?"

He shook his head. "I'm restricted from releasing such information without permission from my authorities."

I nodded. "I thought you'd say that. Do you have any information about Slade that you could share?"

He shook his head again. "I've heard very little about him and regret knowing anything about him." He sighed. "I can tell you that it would be an extremely dangerous situation if he ever got his hands on our weapon."

My heart sank some and I looked down. "I apologize for getting you mixed up in all this, but we want to make sure that your family is safe." I reached for the extra communicator hooked onto my belt and gave it to him. "If anything happens, we're just a call away."

He took it with hesitation and nodded. "I understand. I wish you all the best of luck."

I left shortly after, relieved to be leaving.

Yeah, I know. It was a really brief visit that could've been missed if you'd blinked. I just wanted to get the job done. I hate seeing a man like Gordon Thomas being let down so hard. To escape from something you were glad to be rid of only to have it come back to you out of the blue? We knew all too well how that felt.

I met up with the rest of the Titans at our regular pizza place. It seemed like everyone had the same story; no information about the Supernova and no information about Slade. But right now I couldn't think of either. Something that had been bouncing around my mind the whole night before was back to haunt me.

However, it did not stop me from noticing the gray glove drawing closer to my plate.

"What are you doing?" I said stonily, eyeing Beast Boy's guilty face.

"You haven't touched your slice yet!" he said, taking his hand away as if I were going to bite it off. "Don't waste good pizza!"

"Fine." I grabbed my piece and took a big bite. "Don't touch my food ever again."

Beast Boy slumped back into his seat, dreaming of days when we would treat ourselves to seconds.

"You okay, Raven?" Robin asked. "You've been quieter than usual."

I swallowed the last of my slice. "I'm just a little tired. I couldn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Well, when we get back we can all get some rest," he said.

"Even you?" I asked without thinking.

He looked at me with a raised brow. "What?"

"Nothing! Forget I said anything." I looked at the rest of my friends, who were shocked that I had dared to question Robin's habits and put us in potential argument danger.

Robin was about to say something when Beast Boy let out a yelp that could be mistaken for the screech of a monkey.

"Uh! Um . . ." he looked around the table and let a puddle of water drip from his glass. "Who wants to see a magic trick?" he asked frantically.

Eager to change the subject, Cyborg volunteered to watch. He moved in closer.

"Okay, just look closely into the water," Beast Boy began, trying to sound overly-dramatic, "and I shall turn your reflection into an optical illusion!"

Cyborg's head craned closer to the water. Beast Boy slapped his hand into the puddle and splashed his victim's face. Beast Boy laughed and even Starfire began to giggle. Not at all amused, Cyborg gave a great tug on the magician's ear and pulled him to the ground.

"OW! Aw, come on, dude!" Beast Boy whined, rubbing his ear. "Grow a sense of humor!"

"I do have a sense of humor," Cyborg said with a smile. "It's short, green, and makes me laugh every time it gets what it deserves."

* * *

When we got back to the Tower, I borrowed Silkie from Starfire who was ecstatic that Silkie and I were "spending quality time together." Baited by the biscuits I was offering as treats, he followed me into my room without hesitation. With Silkie glued to my leg, I closed the door behind me and looked up at my bookshelf.

"On with the experiment, then," I proclaimed, pulling off a piece of the biscuit and dangling it in front of his face.

With the treat in hand I led him to the bookshelf where I put all my spell books. I placed the biscuit on top of the book he had tried to devour earlier. Silkie jumped and hopped and nearly succeeded in getting it, but the shelf was too high and the alcove too far back. He must have kept going for at least ten minutes before I stopped him.

Feeding him the biscuit as a reward for his attempts, I muttered to myself more than him, "You're much too small to get any of my spell books . . . So how did you get that one?"

I gave him the rest of the biscuit and went back to the bookshelf. I studied the top row for quite some time. Finally, I figured out what was amiss.

One of my books was out of place.

I picked it out and looked at the cover. It was in Azarathian, but there was a small translation underneath. _Dark Spells for the Advanced Sorcerer._ My heart leapt with shock and I started to thumb through the pages. It was full of dark magical methods for a great variety of things, including how to eradicate one's enemy. It was a book given to me by the monks of Azarath, though they advised me that such practices were only to be used in dire situations. Even so, I dared not pick it up.

So now the question was, who was been digging through my spell books?

Jinx was in my room for one night, but she promised me she didn't touch anything. In fact, she had said that she was scared to touch anything in the first place. She could have been lying, though. But to what avail? There was no way she could have learned that kind of magic without the proper preparations and training, and I knew for a fact that she had had neither.

I had already proven to myself that Silkie couldn't have accidently gotten to my books. I would have to call Jinx later and find out, because for now I was at a dead end.

Silkie started to dive beneath my bed in search of who knows what. I hooked him back out with my arm and fed him a plum I was planning to eat later on. Now, however, I was too anxious to stomach anything.

"STANKBALL!"

I winced, and locked my door immediately. And I was certainly too anxious to play with Beast Boy and Cyborg. A loud thump emitted from down the hall, signaling that someone had just been pelted by the flaming object of unpleasant smells. My money was on Cyborg.

I tried to distract myself by playing with Silkie as he gurgled happily on my bed, but after a while someone knocked at my door.

Robin stood before me with a solid face. Maybe his eyes were soft beneath his mask, because his voice was as well.

"Hey, Raven," he said. "Is everything okay?"

I wavered. "Umm . . . Yes? Why do you ask?"

"You just seemed tense earlier, and I wanted to know if you wanted to talk about anything I may have –"

"DUDE! DUCK!"

The Stankball nailed Robin in the back of his head, and he was thrust forward from the impact.

Okay, pause for a second. You know those really cheesy, awkward, almost-never-happens-in-real-life moments that you see in romance movies and romance manga? Say two of the characters are racing each other down a hill and one just happens to fall on top of the other after tripping over a conveniently placed pebble. The girl is beneath the boy, caged in by his arms and legs, and they lock eyes for what seems like three hours. Then they kiss and everyone leaves the theater, throwing popcorn as they go. Don't you hate when that happens? You do? Well, if it really really really really really really annoys you, like pulling-your-hair-out-annoying, then just skim past this. I'm really annoyed by it too, simply because it actually happened.

That's right, Robin was knocked over and took me down with him. That's right, his face was inches above mine. That's right, it was one of the most awkward and uncomfortable moments of my entire life. Lucky for me, though it only lasted two seconds.

We were quick to realize what had happened, and the strongest will in my mind started shouting, "THINK OF SOMETHING WITTY AND GET THE HECK OUT OF THERE! LIKE, NOW!"

"Robin, you smell really bad," I commented, noticing the pile of stinky socks atop his head.

He got up immediately and brushed the items off his head. Cyborg appeared in the doorway.

"Great job, BB!" he shouted to the approaching shape-shifter. "If you hadn't ducked, Robin wouldn't have gotten hit and our ball wouldn't be in pieces!"

"Are you suggesting that because I saved my own butt," Beast Boy said, "that this is all my fault?"

" . . . Yes."

"It's okay, guys," Robin said. "I'm just gonna go take a shower now." He looked back at me. "You sure that you're –"

"Positive," I interrupted, standing up. "Thanks for the consideration."

He frowned, but left. I gave the rest of the putrid smelling objects to Beast Boy and walked back into my room.

"Hey, Raven, you wanna -"

"No, goodbye."

I shut the door and climbed onto my bed. I took in a deep breath, and let out a huge sigh followed by goose bumps.

There, you psychotic fangirls. You got your moment. Hope you didn't have a seizure or anything. Don't read the rest of the chapter in hopes that there will be more. That's it. In fact, the end is coming up so you may as well leave now.

Silkie started to gnaw on my shoe I guess as a sign of affection. I patted his head, though I was still frowning.

"Let's switch jobs one day. Good with you?"

Silkie belched.


	5. Chapter 5 : A Visit from an Old Friend

**Chapter Five: A Visit from an Old Friend**

Robin came back from his meeting the next day at around six, looking frustrated and discouraged. He called us all to the main room to share his information.

"The Supernova," he said, "is a weapon that could be used to wipe out several Jump Cities within a couple of hours." He inserted a disc into the main computer. Piles of pictures flooded onto the screen, showing a round and metal orb with an intricate controlling system surrounding it. "The Supernova spreads an airborne toxin that paralyzes the human body. After half an hour of paralysis, the victim undergoes a great spasm of agonizing pain and dies within minutes. A few hours following the release of the toxin, any remaining evidence of it vanishes without a trace."

The four of us sitting on the couch had our mouths agape and our knuckles white, clutching our seats.

"This weapon was originally to be used by the military," Robin continued, "to better America's chances in the war. But it proved to be so deadly that it was removed from all defenses' stocks. They wouldn't tell me where they're being kept, just in case the information they gave us slipped. The bottom line is that we have to find Slade and make sure he's put in jail before he can find the weapons."

"But how are we gonna find him?" Cyborg asked. "We have zero leads now that we've talked to the Supernova's creators, and he hasn't appeared anywhere else since."

"Tonight we're going to search the city," Robin replied, though he spoke as if Cyborg hadn't said anything. "We can't just sit back and wait."

I squirmed a little in my seat. "Someone should stay behind and watch the Tower," I said.

Robin looked at me, his face in a query. "Why is that?"

"Someone could break in while we're gone," I said. "I know the security system's tight, but you never know what may happen."

He said nothing, his arms folded in consideration.

"Slade of all people should be able to do it," I pointed out after he showed no sign of giving in.

To this he nodded. "Okay, then. Starfire, do you think you could stay here while we're gone?"

She agreed, and watched us off as we left. Before we got settled, I took her aside and lowered my voice so the others couldn't hear.

"Star, could you pay extra attention to my bedroom for me?"

"Why do you request it, Raven?" Starfire asked.

"A few misarranged books. Maybe I'm just being paranoid . . ." My voice trailed off.

"I will do my best," she said with a smile.

I thanked her and watched as Robin climbed onto the R-cycle and gave us instructions.

"Since there's going to be four of us searching the city, we'll split up into groups of two and break up the divisions of the town. Beast Boy, Cyborg, take west and south. Raven and I will take east and north. Starfire, make sure to watch from the roof just in case."

And soon we were off and making our way into the city. Robin and I were heading north when I began to open my mind to our surroundings.

My powers are like a room full of doors. Depending on which door I open, I can reach out and take control of whatever is behind it. It takes a lot of practice to know which ones are which, and it takes a lot of meditating to keep some of them sealed safely. The door I was currently unlocking lets me access the world around me and feel for anything out of the ordinary.

Ten minutes passed by without any luck, but I eventually began to sense a presence that was skulking in the shadows ahead of us, as if waiting for us to notice.

"Robin," I said, levitating downwards to his side, "there's something at the junkyard."

He slowed as the junkyard closed in at our right and made a sharp turn followed by a screeching halt. He dismounted and I grounded myself as we began to walk past the mountains of trash and scraps. Now that we were near the target, it would have been too dangerous to open my mind again. I wouldn't be able to take hold of the world around me and would have been more vulnerable to an attack. Whether it killed us or not, we now had no choice but to wander about and wait.

Moments went by, slow and taut like the air, before Robin said something.

"What were you talking to Starfire about before we left?" he asked.

I frowned. "Why does it matter?"

"Raven, is there another reason why you wanted someone to stay behind to guard the tower?"

"I have my suspicions."

As we walked forward, scanning the scene about us, Robin now turned to look at me. "It might help if you tell me about them."

"It doesn't have anything to do with Slade, if that's what you're implying."

_Ouch! Bad Raven! Very bad Raven!_

"The only thing that I was implying," Robin said, his steps becoming slower, "was that I wanted to help you with whatever's bothering you."

"With Slade on your plate again, it's very hard to believe that you would have time for my problems."

_Shut up, shut up!_

"Why do you keep mentioning him?" Robin asked, now standing in front of me and blocking my path.

I shouldn't have kept talking about it, but something inside wanted me to stop bottling up my thoughts like I was. I wanted to be honest with him just this once and show him what he was doing.

"No matter how many times, he shows up," I said, my voice strong and stern, "you will always get caught up in him. Nothing else is more important to you than putting him behind bars. If the world blew up, surely it must be Slade's fault!"

"Raven, calm down," he said, though his voice was growing louder as well. "I don't want to argue with you."

But now that I was talking, I could not control the words that were coming out of my mouth. I had wanted to say them for a long time and nothing was holding me back now.

"In fact," I continued despite my common sense, "I bet the only reason you were helping me when Trigon was a threat is because you wanted to get your hands on Slade!"

Robin was taken aback at first, but then looked positively furious with me.

"Don't you dare say that ever again!" he shouted. "You know that's not true! I helped you because you're my friend! No one in this world comes between me and my friends!"

I raised a brow. "You're kidding right? Might I remind you of the time you threatened to hurt us if we stood in your way of finding him?"

His teeth gritted and his eyes narrowed, he turned around and took his rage out on a car door that lied in a pile of trash. After giving it a good kick, it groaned as it was bended down the middle, and he turned back to face me.

"I don't know what your problem is, Raven," he yelled, "but if after all this time you think a villain is more important to me than you are, then be that way!"

He stomped forward, leaving me to stand alone in the middle of the junkyard.

_You may very well be the biggest moron to ever set foot on this planet._

I couldn't help myself. Those words that I so freely said to him had been secured in my mind for a long time. What beat me up the most is that I could have picked a better time, I could have used a gentler argument, and I could have actually made him understand how I felt. But now, in a time in which I might have really needed him, I lost my temper. I didn't even believe in half of what I said. I just wanted to back up my point, and by doing such I hurt a friend. I kicked a can in front of me and looked up to see where he was. Shortly after realizing he was gone, I heard another voice behind me.

"Never knew you had it in you, Raven."

I turned and faced a white mask in the shape of a skull, with a red "x" marked at the top. I backed up, and almost tripped over on my own feet. My hands began to glow with energy.

"Red X," I snarled. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd pop in on my favourite do-gooders," he said, stepping forward and forcing me to back up. "That was a real nasty quarrel you put up, by the way."

I shot a short beam of energy towards him, but he jumped up and landed on a heap of garbage.

"Come on, Raven," he teased. "Can't we just talk this out?"

"Not likely!"

Robin struck him from behind with his staff and knocked him over. Chains of black magic sprouted from the ground at my command and circled his wrists and ankles, pinning him down. He struggled and resisted for some time until Robin finally approached him.

"Start talking, X," he said. "What are you up to?"

"I was just on my way out to pick up some supplies," Red X said, "when I noticed some old friends passing by."

"What do you want?" I asked impatiently.

"You're going to tell me where I can find more Xenothium," the prisoner stated.

"You're in the wrong position to be making commands," Robin answered.

"Am I?"

He lifted the palm closest to me and released a large red "x" that expanded before binding me completely with my arms at my sides. I tripped over and lost focus of my powers, freeing the masked bandit. Before Robin's staff could hit him again, he had his arm around my shoulders and a sharp red knife at my neck.

"I'm not going to repeat myself again," his mechanical voice said. "Tell me where I can find more Xenothium."

Robin stopped in his tracks, looking hopelessly frustrated. My eyes began to glow as I tried to tune in on my powers again, but the knife moved closer.

"No funny stuff," he whispered in my ear.

"Let her go, X!" Robin shouted.

"You know what can save her, Robin."

"Who ever said that I need saving?" I yelled.

Ignoring the feeling of cold steel as it was pressed against my throat, I focused in on the blade and it shattered into pieces. Robin acted quick and hurled a small bomb at X that caught onto his cape and exploded within half a second. I was close enough to be thrown back, but Robin came to my side and cut the bonds that were keeping me from moving. After being helped up, I tried to keep my ground and prepare myself for another attack. Red X was now standing at the gates of the junkyard.

"I didn't really think I'd accomplish anything to tell you the truth," he said. "But I don't think this is the best time to ask you guys questions. I'll come back when you're not too heated up from your arguments."

Before the disc that Robin had thrown could touch Red X, our little friend was gone in a flash. We both ran to the gate to see if we could stop him, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Great," Robin muttered. He took out his communicator. "Cyborg, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," I heard Cyborg say. "What's the problem?"

"Red X is up to something," Robin said. "He escaped and we're not sure where he's going."

"Got it," Cyborg said. "We'll keep an eye out and meet you soon."

"Call us in if you do see him." With that, he closed the communicator and began to mount the R-cycle again.

"Shouldn't we try talking to Professor Chang?" I suggested.

He didn't look at me as he spoke. "He's still in jail. Even if we did go talk to him, he wouldn't be able to tell us much. We'll have to keep a close eye on the prison though to make sure there aren't any break-outs."

"And the Xenothium he used to have?"

"All used up by Red X I suppose. He always knew where Chang kept it all, so he must have run out."

He put on his helmet and revved up the engine. I opened my mouth to say something, but he was already driving off.

We turned the city upside-down at least three times that night, but still found no sign of Slade or Red X.

* * *

In most romance novels in which the heroine is independent or strong-willed, the person in whom she is infatuated with becomes her weakness and renders her helpless in his presence. It at first seemed like a really stupid idea, but now it seemed like a very useful trait in my predicament. Maybe if I was head over heels for Robin and melted into a puddle of goo every time I talked to him, maybe he wouldn't be giving me the cold shoulder.

It wasn't like Robin to be angry enough to not to talk to his friends, but then again it wasn't like me to yell at him and put salt on his wounds. I would be mad at me too, if I didn't already feel like hammering my head against the wall of my bedroom. Not only was I mad with myself, but I was also annoyed, frustrated, confused, and embarrassed. I couldn't even meditate with all my emotions so out of line.

At four o'clock in the morning on the day after our search, I sat on my bed with my pillow clutched in my arms and bags under my eyes. I couldn't get the tiniest bit of sleep no matter how hard I tried. There was only one thing that could put my mind at rest, but now I'd have to wait at least another hour until it could be accomplished.

As the sun began to rise over the ocean, I sat on the roof of Titans Tower, waiting for Robin. I didn't know how often he watched the sun rise, but as luck would have it, he joined me that morning.


	6. Chapter 6 : Tag

**Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who has been supporting this fanfiction! This story has been a ton of fun for me to write, and I'm glad that other people are enjoying it too. However, this Saturday I will be leaving for a vacation trip. I'm afraid that I won't be able to post anything for a full seven days. Sorry for the wait, but I promise that I'll have chapter seven up as quickly as I can once I come back home. Enjoy chapter six, though its name is much too reminiscent for my tastes, and go see The Dark Knight. It's frickin' awesome.**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Tag**

Robin didn't say anything even as he drew closer and closer to my resting place. In fact, he sat down right next to me, cross-legged and waiting for me to talk first. I sighed, putting away my pride for a little while.

"You were right," I said. "What I said back there wasn't true. I just . . ." I clenched my hands into fists and bit my lip. Going this long without meditating in the condition I was in was not a good idea. If I wasn't careful, I might break a vase or something. "I . . . We don't like just sitting back and watching you when you get so uptight and wrapped up in matters like Slade. We're afraid to stop you. We're afraid we might . . . That we might get you angry and start causing rifts between each other. I'm sorry . . . For everything that I said. I . . . We just want you to take care of yourself."

Robin put his hands behind him on the floor and leaned back on his arms. He sighed and said, "I'm sorry too. I know you guys are just looking out for me. I'm just trying to –"

"Do your job? We know."

"Stop using 'we,'" he said suddenly.

I hesitated before asking, "Why?"

"I know the others think the same thing," he said, "but we got into an argument last night because I was worried about you." He looked at me. "You're still not going to tell me what's wrong, are you?"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Robin, but you know there are some things I have to keep to myself." He frowned, and I continued. "I'm going to get to the bottom of it soon. It's really no big deal. Surely nothing to argue about."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, staring ahead at the horizon.

"Fine, then," he said finally.

I looked at him as he stood up.

"If you won't tell me what's bothering you . . ."

A swift breeze rushed through me, as if a car had just run past me. The chill lingered.

" . . . Then I won't tell you where I'm hiding your cloak!"

I stood up in only my leotard and scowled at him as he dangled my cloak between his thumb and ring finger with a victorious smile on his face.

"I don't want to play tag, Robin," I said, suddenly noticing how heavy my eyelids had become.

"That's a shame, because I do!" He ran to the door, forcing me to trail behind him.

"Augh! I hate morning people!" I yelled as I followed him down the hall.

* * *

I fell asleep with my head resting in my arms at the kitchen counter shortly after Robin began our game. I conceded defeat several times, but he wouldn't listen to me. I guess I forgot to mention that I was running on _zero hours of sleep._ I had already started planning all the horrible forms of torture that I was prepared to perform upon him when I had caught him, but for now I just wanted to rest. My guilt was gone, my emotions were calmed once more, and Robin was obviously more than pleased with my apology. If things were going so well, then how did I end up as the only one having a crummy morning?

Seriously, everyone else must have woken up to unicorns in their closets and rainbows in their toilet bowls. I felt like a lonely little shadow in the corner of a free ice cream shop. What made matters worse is that they all tried to wake me up at one point or another. I controlled myself when Cyborg and Starfire came in to boast about the beautiful weather outside, but I threatened to pull off Beast Boy's finger when he started to poke my nose.

"Jeez, Rae!" he yelped after I jabbed him in the chest with my elbow. "If you're that tired then go sleep in your bedroom!"

"He's bound to come in here again," I said, "and when he does I have to take my cloak back."

"Who has your cloak?" Beast Boy asked.

"Robin," I groaned. "He took it from me this morning and refuses to give it back."

Beast Boy laughed. "That's awesome! I have to go congratulate him!"

I grabbed the green marauder by the collar and sat him back down in his chair. "No, you're not. You are going to sit here and wake me up the second he comes in. _Are we clear?_"

He whimpered. "Crystal clear, ma'am."

Just then, Robin walked into the main room, whistling as he strolled forward. What's the problem with this picture? He didn't have my cloak.

"Where is it?" I asked, my head not moving from the counter.

"I told you I was going to hide it," he said with a smile.

I groaned loudly. "I don't have time for this!"

I went back to my bedroom and took out my communicator. The faster I could get this mystery wrapped up, the faster I could get my cloak back and fall asleep peacefully.

"Jinx here!"

"Hi, Jinx, it's Raven," I greeted half-heartedly.

"Oh, hey. You don't look too good," she commented, noticing my drooping eyelids.

"Tell me something I don't know. Listen, did anything out of the ordinary happen while you slept in my room."

"Well, now that you mention it," she said, putting her finger to her chin in thought, "I could've sworn I saw something hiding in the shadows by your bookshelf."

My stomach did a back flip. "What?"

"I thought it was a burglar or something, so I tried using my magic to see if it would show itself. It was really dark, though, so I knocked over one of your books and it fell under your bed. When I turned on the light there was no one there. I assumed it was one of your creepy relics."

"I'm pretty sure that none of my 'creepy relics' move without my consent," I said, though I was still in shock.

"Is everything okay, Raven?" Jinx asked.

"Y-yeah, it'll be fine." And without a goodbye, I closed the communicator and ran out into the hall.

"Robin!" I shouted as I sprinted back to the main room. Instead, though, I bumped into him halfway there.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

As if on cue, the alarm started to go off, flashing a bright red light over us.

_You gotta be kidding me._

"Trouble," Robin said. "Come on, we have to go."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"I need my cloak!"

* * *

I insisted in riding in the T-car with Cyborg and Robin while Starfire and Beast Boy flew above us. I couldn't fight, much less travel by levitation. I was too tired. I tried to fall asleep in the back seat, but it's hard to doze off when the car is going a billion miles per hour.

When we got to the jeweler's store that Mumbo Jumbo had decided to rob, I was still leaning my head on the window with no intention of opening the door. A few seconds after the other two got out, there was an insistent rapping on the window. I opened one eye and frowned at the masked Boy Wonder.

"Raven! Stop sleeping and come help!" he yelled through the glass.

I sighed and opened the door. However, I leaned on it so much that I fell out of my seat and rolled out onto the sidewalk. I looked up at Robin.

"Happy?" I asked.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" he said as he tried to help me up by the arm.

"None." I stumbled a little when my feet found the ground.

"Well, then, I don't expect you to give it your all, but try to lend a hand every now and again."

"Robin!"

At the sound of Starfire's cry for help, Robin turned on his heel and rushed forward to help fend off Mumbo's new pet: a giant mutant rabbit whose saliva made Silkie look tame.

"Introducing," Mumbo's voice rang out, "a new act in my performance! Please put your hands together for . . ."

The rabbit took a snap at Cyborg and let out a blood-curdling shriek.

"Houdini the Hare!"

Ooh, a hare, my mistake. Look, if something is tearing my limbs off, I don't really pay attention to whether it's a hare or a zebra. It's a mutated animal, watch out.

The rest of the team went into a frenzy of attacks as Mumbo took his seat on top of Houdini's head to give commands and watch his enemies. I watched from the outside of the shop, leaning on a tire on the T-car. My eyelids drooped and soon I was out cold.

"Raven! Please wake up!"

Starfire's voice woke me up. Her face was inches apart from mine, so if I wasn't dangling from a flagpole and wrapped from head to toe in multicolored handkerchiefs, I may have jumped back and tripped over my feet. I looked down at the sidewalk one story below my feet and then back at Starfire who was now untying me.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"Only a few minutes," she replied.

Soon I was free and floated down into the street where the fight had now moved. Though I was a bit dazed and my limbs were weighing me down, I was more concerned with ending this battle more than ever. As Beast Boy was head to head with Houdini in the form of a triceratops, I swooped low over Mumbo who didn't seem to notice my entrance into combat.

"Foolish Titans!" he cackled. "Houdini is too strong for all of you combined!"

As he rattled on, I threw a shot of telekinetic energy at his back. He stumbled forward and onto the ground. With Beast Boy still holding back Houdini, Cyborg caught Mumbo and held him back while Robin took his wand.

Breaking it in half, Robin said, "Your rabbit might have some good moves, but you need to learn some new tricks, Mumbo."

Mumbo cried out in fury, "He's a hare, not a rabbit! There's a difference!"

Houdini shrank down to the size of a regular hare and hopped off. I touched ground and caught him by the fur on his neck before he could escape. His face was still a little deformed, but besides that he was looking up at me as if he had done nothing wrong.

"Hey, you caught him! What does he look like when–?"

Beast Boy stopped talking at once when I turned around to look at him. He stifled a laugh.

"Rae," he forced, "have you seen your face?"

Cyborg pushed Beast Boy aside and took a good look at me. He immediately began to laugh with Beast Boy backing him up. I glowered at their amusement.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked. I looked at Robin who was choking back giggles. "Why are you laughing?"

"Raven, you might want to look in the mirror," he said.

I ran to the T-car and looked at myself through the side mirror.

_. . . Oh, that little wand-waving buffoon._

My face was covered in Magic Marker doodles. I was sporting a curly mustache, a monocle, and bushy eyebrows. I looked behind me at Mumbo Jumbo who was being led into a police truck. He turned to chuckle at me and I summoned the doors of the truck to slam hard against his back.

I shot a harsh glare at the remainder of people of laughing, all of them being my friends. Three of them stopped, but Beast Boy didn't know when to quit. After a moment of persistent chortles, the back of his head was given an unwanted greeting by Cyborg's hand.

I climbed into the back of the T-car.

"Let's just go."

* * *

When we got back to the Tower, Robin followed me to the bathroom in which I tried to rid myself of my face graffiti.

"You wanted to tell me something?" he asked.

I turned on the faucet. "Something or someone has broken into my room."

"What?" he exclaimed, his face in dismay.

"Jinx said she thought she saw someone in there the night she stayed in my room. It left before she could find it, but whatever it was, it was going through my things." I splashed some cold water on my face.

"What things exactly?" he asked.

"My spell books. One of them fell under the bed when Jinx tried to protect herself, and I think that that's the one that Silkie got to. But another one was put back in the wrong spot. I think that's the one that they wanted."

I tried rubbing at my damp face with my knuckles, but the ink wouldn't come off.

"Are you sure Jinx didn't just make it up?"

I shook my head. "Jinx isn't interested in my magic. Even if she was, it would take her years to understand it all." I wet a washcloth and tried rubbing it against my face, but the drawings still wouldn't come off. "Agh! This stinks!"

"Try soap," Robin suggested, grabbing a bar of soap from the cupboard. He took the washcloth, rubbed some soap on it, and touched the towel to my face.

"Ow," I said, as I winced. "You're doing it too hard."

"It won't come off unless I do," he said.

So, I clenched my fists and looked straight ahead at his face as he helped me remove the marker ink.

This is where you might expect to see the paragraph that depicts how handsome or kind he looked. Well, once again, I have to disappoint you. Yes, it was indeed a rather fluffy moment. Yes, I could feel my face get a little red for a few seconds. But I would rather choke on a kitten then try to describe for you rabid monsters the step-by-step breakdown of this tiny tick-sized experience. He cleaned my face with soap and water. That's what happened, that's how it will stay, move on.

"So, you don't have any idea of who would try to break into your room?" Robin asked when he was done.

"Negative," I said, examining myself in the mirror. "Besides, even if we did find out who it is, I doubt that they'd have the experience to use the magic shown in my books."

"Yeah, I guess," said Robin, though his arms were folded in thought.

I turned around to face him. "Robin, what are you thinking about?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. At least for now. You sure you want to sleep in your room tonight? Whoever's doing this more than likely is intent on hurting us."

"What if they try to break in while I'm gone?"

"We could barricade the windows as if in lock down. Right now your safety is more important."

"Where will I sleep?"

He smiled. "I think I know someone who'd be more than happy to have you sleep in their room."


	7. Chapter 7 : A Slumber Party

**Author's Note: I apologize with every fiber of my being. Since I last updated, I have moved from Louisiana to Tennessee and this fanfiction has been delayed because of such. Still, I shouldn't be giving excuses and am wholly, truly sorry. Thank you for all who have supported my story thus far. Please enjoy chapter seven!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven : A Slumber Party**

"Oh, this is wonderful, Raven! First, we shall fix each other's hair in a ridiculous manner!"

"Star –"

"Secondly, we will watch the 'chick flicks' while consuming corn kernels that have been popped!"

"Starfire –"

"After that, we shall take part in the communication of females and then –"

"Starfire!"

She looked at me with eager eyes and an undying smile. "Yes, Raven?"

"I appreciate your enthusiasm," I said over a yawn, "but right now I just want to get some sleep."

"Oh." Her face drooped as well as her flight.

I sighed with guilt. "But if you really want to, we can have a slumber party tomorrow night."

Like a light switch, her happiness flooded back to her in less than a second. "Really, Raven? Oh, thank you ever so much!" She attacked me with an organ-imploding hug.

"Don't mention it," I choked. When she released me, I looked around her bedroom. "Where should I sleep?"

She put a finger to her chin and watched the ceiling as she thought. An invisible light bulb flashed over her head after a few moments, and she scampered to her closet to retrieve a sleeping bag that looked as if it was meant to fit five. I call it a sleeping bag, but in reality it looked more like an overgrown, deflated balloon. With polka dots.

"Tamaranean?" I guessed.

"Yes, it is!" she said in excitement. "Behold the fortawklen! On my planet, we employ it in long journeys away from home. It is most comfortable and is perfect for slumber!"

"Am I supposed to sleep in that?"

She looked down, a little embarrassed. "To tell you the truth, Raven, I was hoping that I may use it as I have not had the chance to do so in a very long time."

"Knock yourself out."

She let out a squeal that could have broken one's eardrums if magnified to the appropriate audio levels. I kicked off my shoes and took off my cloak before slipping into her bed. I closed my eyes, but I could still hear her situating herself in her alien sack of snoozes. I fell asleep almost immediately and couldn't remember my dreams the next morning.

* * *

"The security cameras didn't pick up anything shady trying to sneak into Rae's room." Cyborg scratched the back of his head. "Was anything taken?"

Robin looked at me and I shook my head. "Nothing that I noticed."

"We'll keep up the surveillance," Robin said. "Something tells me we'll be seeing this intruder again very soon."

I sipped some tea, but almost spit it back out when I was assaulted from behind. Beast Boy now had his arm around my shoulders and a wide grin on his face.

"Who would want to sneak into your scary old room anyway?" he asked.

"Do you enjoy telekinetic punishments?" I asked.

He didn't flinch. "I haven't gotten to spend any time with you all week, Rae! I've got millions of jokes just itching to be told."

"As tempting as that sounds," I said, shrugging off his arm, "I think I'd rather just take a swim through the town's sewage routes."

Before he could think of a comeback, Starfire burst into our conversation.

"I apologize, Beast Boy, but tonight Raven is spending the quality time with me!"

Beast Boy scoffed. "Never mind then. I don't want to be caught up in all your girly activities."

Cyborg turned around to share his input. "Don't pretend you don't like braiding your hair, BB."

Beast Boy replied with a jaguar's roar. I ignored the two of them and took a look at the clock on the microwave in the kitchen.

"It's five o'clock already?" I pondered aloud. "How long did I sleep?"

"Till almost forever!" Beast Boy said.

"Two thirty," Cyborg clarified. "We thought you were dead at first."

I looked out the window and watched the sun as it began to glow a deep orange. For the three hours in which I was awake up until that point, I had been meditating. The doors of my powers had become loose in the midst of my lack of sleep. I was paranoid, thinking that one in particular might burst open at any second.

"Oh, please, Raven," Starfire began to beg. "Can we start the slumber festivities now?"

I drained my cup of tea and nodded. "Sure, let's go."

She had me in the air before I could stand up. It seemed that I was caught in a torrent of wind in the trip back to her room. After a few seconds, I was sitting on her bed, observing her as she brought back popcorn and movies that made me wince.

"It's going to be a long night …"

* * *

I feel sorry for toy dolls. They have to be groomed, dressed, undressed, and sometimes even maimed without getting a say in about what they detest. I mean, do you seriously think that they like having all their hair chopped off with a pair of plastic scissors knowing that it will never grow back. Luckily, Starfire didn't have any scissors on hand. God forbid that anyone ever loaned her a pair. When that day comes, keep her away from me. My hair is short enough, thanks.

I didn't ask to paint her nails or do her hair though. I couldn't be held responsible for any type of vengeance I would have tried to take out on her. Plus, knowing her, she'd probably be thrilled with a shaven head. But no, my conscience kept me from doing anything drastic and it's most likely better that way.

Besides, convincing her to play beauty parlor is what got me out of those disastrous romance movies. Yuck.

"Do you like it, Raven?"

I stared hard at my reflection. No. I did not like it. It looked like weasel that had taken a trip through a lawn mower after wetting his fur in a puddle of mud. Realistically, it was just a bunch of clips holding up what few hair I had haphazardly into place. But come on, can't a girl complain?

"I love it Star," I lied.

"Oh, I just knew you would!" she said. "Now, onto the next part of the slumber party!"

_Oh, goody._

"Girl talk!"

… _Arkham straightjackets!_

She pushed me into a cross-legged position on the floor in front of her. She looked at me excitedly, saying nothing for many long moments.

I raised an eyebrow in a question. "Well …?"

She shrugged. "To be honest, I do not know what we are supposed to talk about."

I sighed. "I'm not exactly the guru of girly-time either."

"Oh, now I remember!" Her face suddenly lit up. "Boys!"

" … No, Star, this is _girl_ talk."

"Yes! And in the 'girl talk', we must converse about the opposite gender and their benefits and disadvantages!"

"Dandy. You want to start, then?"

I expected her to start gabbing on about how great she and Robin were getting along in their relationship, but instead she turned the subject around on me.

"Are you interested in any male specimen, Raven?"

Okay, first of all using the word "specimen" makes it sound like we're talking about lab practices or something. Secondly, who the heck did she think I had my eyes on? As if I actually get a chance to get out of the Tower …

"Umm … No, not really," I said. That was another lie, but even I didn't want to admit it.

She wagged her finger at me. "My slininklar tells me that you are hiding something."

Her what? "I'm not hiding anything, Star."

"Is it Beast Boy?" Her eyes were now aglow with curiosity.

"No, but –"

"Oh, please do not tell me that it is Robin!"

How come Robin made second on the list? Nonetheless, my face was suddenly solemn.

"He's going out with you, Star. I'm pretty sure I'm not interested."

That was yet another lie. But heck, what do you want out of me? She's my friend. What in the name of Azarath would you want me to say?

On second thought, don't answer that.

"Oh, then it must be Cyborg!" she exclaimed as if she had triumphed.

At this point she could have said Slade and I wouldn't have cared. As long as she didn't push the subject of Robin, I was fine with anything she suggested. Still, I had to deny her assumption for the sake of her doing anything stupid.

"It's not Cyborg, Starfire," I said with little enthusiasm.

"Do not lie to me, Raven. My slininklar knows all!"

Seriously, what is that?

"All of my teammates are just friends," I said.

"But the two of you would be so perfect together!"

"We would?" How'd she come to that conclusion?

"Oh, yes, I am most sure of it! In fact, we should set up a double date!"

You see, that's what I meant by doing something stupid. I immediately shook my head.

"I promise you, Starfire, I don't have any feelings for Cyborg besides friendship."

Finally, she sighed in disappointment. "Alright, if you say so, Raven."

Goodness this girl was way off. And how am I perfect for Cyborg?

Again, don't answer that.

* * *

After our chitchat, we pretty much crashed and called it a night. It's amazing how much talking can exhaust a girl. When I woke up, I embraced my bedroom with open arms. I can only take so much pink for so long.

Call it a delayed thought, but it was just then that I noticed the chest set up against the wall near my bed. My heart skipped a beat.

_No one took anything …_

I walked slowly, as if my steps would trigger the very thing I was so anxious about.

_Jinx scared them off before they could steal anything …_

I kneeled down in front of the chest and stroked the engravings while my mind was in a daze.

_It's still there … It has to be …_

I finally opened it.

The chest was empty.


	8. Chapter 8 : Shattered

**Chapter Eight: Shattered**

My feet became quite acquainted with the ground after that moment. I didn't even bother levitating. Not because I didn't want to, but because my mind was in such a blur at the time that I didn't even think of it. I was sprinting so quickly that I almost missed my turn at the elevator and nearly tripped trying to recover.

"Come on, come on!" I grumbled to the elevator button.

The elevator groaned into motion and music started playing from the stereo above.

_"When there's trouble you know what to do! Call Cyborg! He can - "_

_KRSSH!_

Okay, yeah, I destroyed the speaker. Not important right now. I was frustrated and scared to death. Cyborg's self-composed theme song was not exactly what I wanted to listen to right now. What was important was that I find Robin and quick.

The elevator stopped with a _ding!_ and let me run out onto the rooftop of Titans Headquarters, where I had presumed Robin to be.

_But Raven! How did you know Robin would be there?_

Pause. Remember the whole entering Robin's mind thing that took place when he was going nuts with illusions of Slade? And the mental bond that resulted? Yeah, that's how I can detect his general location. We clear? Good. Just making sure there are no unanswered questions left after wards. Play.

"Robin, I - "

The words came out before my eyes could completely process what I had found him doing ... Or rather, what I had found them doing.

They had stopped when they had heard me arrive on the scene, but you didn't have to be a genius to figure out what they were up to. With Robin's arms tied around Starfire's waist and their faces so close together, I found out that I had barged in just as they were having some major quality time together. My words got caught in my throat despite their urgency.

"Oh, Raven," Robin said, letting go of Starfire. "Is there something wrong?"

I tried to talk again. "I looked in - "

_LET ME OUT!_

A loud wailing was ringing in my mind, pounding at my skull, and giving me a headache that would scare away any bottle of Advil. I turned away, my hands gripping my head.

"Raven! What's wrong?"

"Are you alright?"

The pain started to die down, but only by a little. I looked at them to tell them it was okay, to tell them that we were in more danger than we thought. But as soon as I saw Robin's face drawing closer towards me, the pounding became unbearable.

_LET ME OUT, RAVEN! LET ME OUT!_

My mind's doors were slamming open as if they'd been kicked outwards. For one fleeting second, I couldn't control anything. I couldn't control my powers, the words I had wanted to say, my motionless body ... Everything was lost in one big explosion of agony and helplessness. I tried to tell them to run, not to get any closer, but it was too late.

At the very last minute, I made one desperate attempt to target all of it somewhere else so they wouldn't be hurt.

Luckily for us, it worked.

Every single window of the Titans Tower shattered into billions of pieces, raining out into the Jump City bay and scattering all over the island. Yes, it would be a pain in the butt to clean up, but that was hardly a major concern of mine.

Immediately following the crash was a clear-cut silence that weighed down on all of us, as we tried to make something out of what just happened. I could hear Beast Boy and Cyborg's shouts of panic from below, I could hear glass fragments dropping into the water, and I could hear the cars on the bridge rushing by as if nothing had happened.

Finally, I saw Robin's hand reach out to me.

"Raven, what - "

_LET ME OUT!_

I stepped away from him with my back turned to the both of them.

"I have to go meditate," I said.

"Are you - "

Before he could say anymore, I fled inside the elevator and closed the doors without looking at the two of them again. Needless to say, I was now ten times as nervous as I was before. In fact, I don't think the word "nervous" does it any justice. The term "scared beyond relief" works much better, actually.

The trip downwards was like a dream. I didn't have any rational thoughts, or any thoughts at all for that matter. Things were happening too fast. I had too much on my plate and it made me afraid for my life.

When I got to my room, I tore it upside down and inside out. Maybe it hadn't been taken at all. Maybe I just put it somewhere else and forgot about it. The idea seemed hopeless, but at this point I was ready to bank on anything besides what very well may have been the truth. But, alas, I ended up sitting in the middle of my bedroom, gaping at the mess I had made. My books were scattered across the floor, some with their spines facing up and some open and looking up at me, wondering why I was suddenly mistreating them so.

It was then that I noticed how much I was exhausting myself. The doors had closed again, but I could feel them slowly creaking agate again. There was something wrong in the deepest confines of my mind, but I felt too stressed and shocked to care about it right now.

"Raven!"

Robin's voice traveled from down the hall and caused a great irritation of pain in my head again. I took that as my cue to be a big girl and deal with my problems.

I locked the door to my room and grabbed the hand-held mirror set on my vanity. I looked at myself, but found it to miserable to look in the eyes. I tried looking beyond it, as if the reflection was transparent, and found myself tumbling into Nevermore.

It seemed empty at first. Just the usual gaping void of space with the occasional stony platform or two. But then I felt an unwanted embrace knock me off my feet.

"Raven!"

I shoved Happiness off of me, which is not an easy task, I assure you. She was unfazed and gleamed at me with her undying, and very irritating, smile.

"It's awesome to see you!" she squealed, trying to steal another hug.

I planted my hand on her forehead and held her back. "How you every spawned from me, I will never understand," I said, looking in disgust at her bright pink cloak. It was like watching me do all the most uncharacteristic things in the world without being able to do something about it. Probably why she occupied most of my nightmares.

"Oh, by the way," she said, taking a step back to give me my space, "Nevermore is on the brink of total destruction!"

She said it as if she were announcing that she had just won the lottery.

"Super," I said. "Mind telling me what's been going on, then?"

"You're so silly, Raven!" she giggled. "You know perfectly well what's wrong! You just won't admit it."

"I tend to do that a lot. Why is it becoming a nuisance now?"

She looked as if she was about to say something, but changed her mind and beckoned me with a wave of her hand.

"Follow me!"

"If you do the airplane thing again - "

Crud, too late. She ran forward with her arms spread out while replicating the sputter of a very annoying plane engine.

--

"Where have you been?"

Intelligence was looking at me the way a worried mother does when her adolescent offspring comes home an hour after curfew.

"Um, busy?" I said.

"Too busy to take notice to your emotions?!"

" ... Yes."

Happiness held Intelligence back before she could throw the book at me ... Literally. She had come prepared with a hardcover that I assumed was intended to become good friends with my head.

Happiness had led me to the entrance of a cavern I hadn't seen before, though it must have traveled on for a while, because I could just barely hear panicked voices inside.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"Trying to keep you from imploding," Intelligence said.

"I'll have to send them thank you cards. Can I see them, please?"

Intelligence was about to say something, but Happiness had already grabbed my wrist.

"Of course you can!" she laughed, pulling me into the cave.

It was pitch dark at first, though I could see the occasional red glimmer of painted spells on the walls. A scarlet light started to fade into view as we ran in deeper, and the source was close. Before I could ask where exactly we were, I caught a glimpse of Bravery's back turned to me, straining to hold back something that she was blocking from my view.

"Hey, everyone! Raven's here!" Happiness called.

"Good, she can take my place," I heard Sloth say.

Happiness had led me to the end of the cave, a round room glowing red from all the activated spells on the walls. Bravery, Sloth, and Timidity were standing around three other Ravens that had been placed upon a higher leveled spot of ground. The emotions in the middle of the room were being held in by a black box of telekinetic power and wore cloaks of purple, red, and ... bright green?

I nudged Happiness in the arm. "Hey. I haven't met that one," I said, pointing to the emotion in the louder shade of green.

"Well, duh, silly! You never used her until now!"

"Who is she, then?"

"Envy!"

I looked back at the trapped Ravens and tried to put things together.

"It's not that hard to figure out, rocks for brains!" Anger shouted.

Okay, so the ones encased against their will were Anger, Envy, and Love ... Dang it.

"This is the worst possible time for this, you know," I said, addressing no one in particular.

"Sorry you can't control your adolescent hormones," Anger snapped, red eyes aglow.

Intelligence appeared next to me. "These three specifically have been the cause of your problems. They've been trying to break free for a while now, but after that long period of lack of sleep the other day, the force keeping them here has weakened."

"Is that why I got into a fight with Robin?" I asked.

Intelligence nodded. "We tried to hold Anger back, but you didn't. It's a good thing you didn't give in completely, though. You might have gone so far as to hurt him.

We've been working in shifts to hold them back, and we also covered this cave in enchantments, but all the stress that's been building up within you has been worsening situation."

"Well, that last part isn't exactly my fault."

"I know."

"What can I do?"

She sighed and shook her head. "The only thing you can do right now is to meditate as much as possible. Try to put your mind at ease whenever possible. It'll give us more strength to keep them contained until we have more time to try and solve this directly."

"But how can I tell Robin what's happened when I can't even come within twenty feet of him?"

"Send a messenger. Just don't come too close to him. Every time you do, Nevermore weakens."

"I can't avoid him forever."

"We'll let you know when it's safe. For now, meditate. It's all that you can do."

We watched in silence as Anger, Envy, and Love struggled to break free. I walked closer to get a better look at them.

"This ain't a zoo, ogle-eyes," Anger growled.

"Don't be so mean," whined Love.

Envy looked me up and down. "I wish I had a blue cloak."

I sighed and turned to Intelligence. "I'll leave now."

She nodded and restrained Happiness when she tried to hug me. I closed my eyes and muttered under my breath, "Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos."

I envisioned my bedroom and felt myself being sucked in closer. When I opened my eyes again, I was sitting on the floor with the mirror in my hands. I placed it back on the vanity, and stood up. I walked to the door, but didn't open it. Robin was long gone, but I did hear someone's footsteps coming closer.

"Hello?" I called.

The footsteps stopped. "Raven?"

It was Cyborg.

"Hey," I said through the door. "I need you to do me a favor."

"What's been going on, Rae?"

"I don't have time to explain. I need you to give Robin two messages for me."

" ... Okay."

"First, tell him that until I say so, he has to stay as far away from me as possible."

"What? Why?"

"It's for his own good."

"Alright, if you say so. What's the second message?"

"Tell him ... "

I bit my lip, still so hesitant to admit that almost everything that could go wrong was laughing in my face.

"Rae?"

"Tell him ... That Malchior's book is gone."


End file.
